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A factor found in umbilical cord blood could become the basis for developing a new therapy to fight harmful inflammation, researchers report. When given to mice, the newly discovered factor countered signs of inflammation and sepsis, such as fever, fluctuations in respiratory rate, and death. [Press release from University of Utah School of Medicine discussing online publication in The Journal of Clinical Investigation]
Press Release | Full Article

The authors found that co-culturing human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) directly with the activated astrocytes benefited to the proliferation and neuron differentiation of hUC-MSCs in vitro. [Acta Biomater]
Abstract

Researchers compared the effects of mesenchymal stem cells from different sources on acute kidney injury induced by cisplatin and their influence on renal regeneration. [Stem Cell Res Ther]
Full Article

Investigators recently showed that the efficiency of cryopreservation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells may be greatly enhanced by adding a serum-free xeno-free culture medium, which improves the antioxidant and biochemical properties of the cryopreservation solution. In this study, they present the clinical-scale validation of this cryopreservation procedure. [Cytotherapy]
Abstract

The authors transplanted CM-Dil-labeled human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells into the testes of an ethane dimethanesulfonat-induced male rat hypogonadism model. Twenty-one days after transplantation, they found that blood testosterone levels in the therapy group were higher than that of the control group. [Asian J Androl]
Abstract

The authors summarize strategies for the conduct of research on late effects after transplantation, including consideration of the study design and analytic approaches; methodologic challenges in handling complex phenotype data; an appreciation of the changing trends in the practice of transplantation, and the availability of biospecimens to support laboratory-based research. [Biol Blood Marrow Transplant]
Abstract

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New York Blood Center announced plans to begin screening its blood supply for the Zika virus in all of the local communities where it collects blood. [New York Blood Center (PR Newswire Association LLC)]
Press Release

Advisers to the US Cancer Moonshot Initiative have produced a wide-ranging laundry list of research targets for the project — even as its funding remains uncertain. The ten recommendations released on 7 September include the launch of a national clinical-trial network specifically targeted at therapies that harness the immune system, and the creation of a 3D cancer atlas to catalogue how a tumour interacts with neighbouring normal cells. [Nature News]
Editorial

Another year, another round of budget roulette for US science agencies. When Congress returns from its summer break on 6 September, it will have just three weeks to pass a new government funding bill before the 2017 budget year begins on 1 October. Policy analysts predict that lawmakers will pass a stopgap funding measure that will keep agencies’ budgets flat until the presidential election in November — and perhaps into next year. [Nature News]
Editorial

Depending on whom you ask, the U.S. government workshop on the state of nonhuman primate research was either a raging success or a complete fiasco. The event, held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, brought together dozens of scientists, veterinarians, and bioethicists to discuss how research on monkeys and related animals is contributing to human medicine and to review the welfare policies that surround this work. [Science News]
Editorial